The Church of Eleven22 has applied to build a 44,928-square-foot, two-story facility with more than 1,000 seats at the Shoppes of Valley Ridge on U.S. 1 in Ponte Vedra, a use not currently permitted under the site's planned unit development.

Application filed for undeveloped shopping center lot

The church filed an application in August to construct a two-story, 44,928-square-foot building on an undeveloped lot at the Shoppes of Valley Ridge, 10850 U.S. 1, the Jacksonville Daily Record reported. The lot sits between existing retail buildings in the shopping center.

Zoning hurdle: church use not allowed under current PUD

The project needs a modification to the Pope Site Planned Unit Development, or PUD. St. Johns County enacted the PUD in 2019 under Ordinance No. 2019-37, rezoning about 11.99 acres from Open Rural to PUD and capping the site at 94,000 square feet of commercial use. A church is not a permitted use under the current PUD.

Because the application lists seating capacity above 1,000, the county's Land Development Code classifies the facility as a "large place of assembly" under Section 2.03.12(C). That classification triggers the PUD modification requirement.

Jacksonville-based Langan Engineering & Environmental Services Inc. is the engineering consultant on the project.

What happens next in the approval process

Under county policy, a minor PUD modification goes before the St. Johns County Planning and Zoning Agency for review. It does not require a vote by the full Board of County Commissioners unless someone files an appeal. The county had not confirmed whether this application qualifies as a minor or major modification as of Monday. A Planning and Zoning Agency hearing had not been scheduled as of that date.

Church's current footprint in the region

The Church of Eleven22, founded in 2012 by lead pastor Joby Martin, operates campuses in Duval, Clay and St. Johns counties and south Georgia. The church currently holds Ponte Vedra services at Ponte Vedra High School, 460 Davis Park Road, on Sundays at 7:22 a.m. and 9:22 a.m., according to its website. The application does not state whether the proposed facility would replace or supplement that arrangement.

Residents can monitor the Planning and Zoning Agency's hearing schedule on the St. Johns County website.